Watch Live as Trump Signs a Presidential Memorandum Targeting China’s Economic Aggression

President Donald Trump signs an executive memorandum Thursday intended to highlight China’s unfair trade practices in respect to the United States.

The trade actions by the Trump administration come in response to unfair commodity dumping and technology theft by the Chinese.

There have been a “number of specific failings by China to live up to its WTO obligations,” said an official of the U.S. Trade Representative in a Wednesday background briefing for reporters.

The president is widely expected to impose billions of dollars in tariffs on a number of Chinese products and put restrictions on Chinese investment in United States assets although U.S. Trade Representative officials declined Wednesday to specify the exact measures to be taken.

U.S. companies that have become heavily dependent upon cheap Chinese goods and labor have warned that Trump’s actions could incite a trade war – something that many believe China started decades ago and that American leaders have failed to face.

The signing event is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EDT.